If Data Was A Female...

IMHO Data is atleast in the top 3 of favorite TNG characters...would Data be more popular with fans if that character was female? I know it would depend on who the actress was and her portrayal of the character not to mention the way the character was written.

It really would have depended on the actress' performance. Data isn't so well-liked because he was made to resemble a male; it was because of Brent Spiner's performance. Making Data "female" wouldn't automatically make the character more popular.

Wesley Crusher could have remained Leslie Crusher, but that still wouldn't have guaranteed that the character would be better liked. For all we know, Leslie could have ended up even worse than Wesley did.

I don't know if making Data female would have made him more well-liked. Like some of the posters explained above, there have been some examples of android/android-like women that haven't necessarily been more popular than Data as a male.

I think that a Data-like woman would have been seen as cold and unlikeable by the fan base, even if she'd have acted the same as Data (with the female version of a Brent Spiner). The women characters in Trek have a tendency to have to show "sensitive" sides at some point: Yar had her bruised past and friendship with Data and some sexy stuff, even 7 of 9 had to start "opening up." Kira Nerys ended up becoming almost soap opera-y gooey sensitive (just using the "stronger" women as an example).

It certainly would have made Data's ... interlude... with Tasha Yar in "The Naked Now" a whole lot more interesting. And if they had had the balls of Star Trek TOS, that could have slowly been a launching point for some social issues over the course of the 7 years of the series: Tasha not being okay with it because of the society she comes from, but deciding that it doesn't have to mean that she is gay because Data is a machine. Data later attempting to explore issues of sexuality, and becoming confused when most other crew people don't have the same issues Yar did, but some do for different reasons. In particular, I can envision a conversation between this female Data and Dr. Crusher at the end of "The Host" with Data asking Beverly why it makes a difference that Odan is in a female body....

Summer Glau would have been way too young to play our female Data, obviously, as would Keegan Connor Tracy - but I think the fact that I could see either of them playing the part well proves (to me, anyway) that they could have found a convincing actress for the role back then.

If Data had been female I think they'd have had her explore her sexuality in ways that they didn't with Data. I think she'd have had vulnerabilities in the way that Data didn't seem to and maybe less autonomy. However much Data was a machine and striving to be human he always seemed to know his own mind and be his own person. I don't know how that would have played out if Data had been female. I wonder if Picard, for instance, would have been paternalisitic in the way that he pretty much wasn't with (a male) Data.

I can definitely see Geordi with a female Data, as a female android would probably be more approachable for the romantically clumsy Geordi than the other women he tried to make it with (Aquiel being an exception.) If they wanted to go the female sexpot, I would've cast Marta DuBois as a female Data. Also, Tricia O'Neal, who played Captain Rachel Garrett in Yesterday's Enterprise, would make a good, quietly sexy android. -- RR

I think it would probably been quite comical, a good looking female (hopefully) with Data's traits. Lal made a great daughter (excellent episode) but I don't think that this showed how a female Data would be. Since reading this thread I hhave tried to imagine it and it doesn't work for me. Perhaps I too used to seeing Data as introduced in episode 1 of TNG. This would also have meant that she would have had a psycho sister (or two), now that would have made an interesting script in 'Brothers' obviously renamed 'Sisters'!

I don't know if making Data female would have made him more well-liked. Like some of the posters explained above, there have been some examples of android/android-like women that haven't necessarily been more popular than Data as a male.

I think that a Data-like woman would have been seen as cold and unlikeable by the fan base, even if she'd have acted the same as Data (with the female version of a Brent Spiner). The women characters in Trek have a tendency to have to show "sensitive" sides at some point: Yar had her bruised past and friendship with Data and some sexy stuff, even 7 of 9 had to start "opening up." Kira Nerys ended up becoming almost soap opera-y gooey sensitive (just using the "stronger" women as an example).

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And the men in Trek - "stronger" or not - don't have that tendency? Please name one man who did not have to show "sensitive" sides at some point. Or a major male character who never did sexy stuff.

I'd also like to ask you what the difference is between being sensitive and "sensitive", or stronger and "stronger", or what exactly does it mean being "soap opera-y gooey sensitive", but nevermind. Did it ever occur to you that these women showed that they had emotions not because they're women, but because they're people, and, well, most people have emotions?

As for Data - well he is an example of the above. He's an android who thinks he doesn't have emotions, but who's actually very "sensitive" with people, has strong friendships, feels a connection to someone he's only had a one-night stand in and who dumped him right afterwards (and later gets duped by her sister, because of the said emotional connection), feels an attachment to a furry pet, and most importantly, constantly wishes to become more human and find emotions. Oh, and he does some "sexy stuff" with Tasha, has a failed romance with another crewmember, and later does some more "sexy stuff" with a femme fatale-like Borg Queen. In addition, he has family problems with his android evil twin brother, becomes a "father" and loses the "child", finds a "mother" who turns out not to really be his mother (but he lies to her to spare her feelings), and finds another mentally challenged twin brother who turns evil. And he ends up sacrificing himself for his crewmates.

Sounds like there's no better example of your "sensitive", "gooey" and "soap-opera-y"
character than Data.

What would change if Data had been a female? IMO, nothing much. (Except that she wouldn't have a fling with Tasha.) He'd be just as popular as he is now, providing the actress was as good as Brent Spiner and played her the same way.

That would work if Seven of Nine were the same character as Data, only female. But she is not. They're not even the same species, have completely different backgrounds, and want different things. Data wants to be human right from the start and thinks that there is nothing better than being human, Seven starts off by thinking there is nothing better than the Borg collective and not wanting to be human at all.